Here’s my hot take, when it comes to video editing, Apple really wasn’t wrong when they said 8 gigs feels closer to 16 gigs. Here’s why: When a PC with CUDA acceleration decodes video, it decodes a video file and stores that in RAM for smooth playback. But Apple’s M series of chips has native architecture specifically for H.265 and ProRes video decoding. Essentially, if your project is composed of these codecs, you don’t need to store the decoded video in RAM. I went from 64 gigs of RAM with an RTX 2080 and, a year later, an M1 Pro with 8 gigs of RAM basically made my huge rig redundant. Of course, this doesn’t help anybody in terms of opening browser tabs and whatnot. But, for video editing, the native video decoding engine seriously changed the memory management game forever.
Anyone looking at the Mini with the M4 PRO chip.........only get the base model. As soon as you upgrade anything you are at $1799 which is silly. At that price I would get the Max Studio with the Max M2 Max chip which has same or more GPU and CPU as M4 plus 32gb of unified memory. Also you get not one, but video encoders. Better cooling and true no thunderbolt 5'w, but you get more overall ports. Also 400 bandwidth compared the 273 of the M4 Pro chip in the Mini.
There's actually zero issues with the base models SSD transfer rate as previous models as the latest strip down tests have discovered here...The other thing we’ve learned is that the base Mac Mini’s module has two 128GB NAND chips instead of a single 256GB one, which means we don’t expect to see a performance bottleneck compared to the previously released base model M-Series Macs. Apple returned to two 128GB chips on the M3 MacBook Air released last April.
Intel 5K iMacs are great for professional work and for most daily tasks also they support Windows Natively ( x86_64) using BootCamp, it's rare to find an identical display to use seperatly on PC/Mac (except Apple Studio Display and LG 5K Display). The only annoying issues with these Intel iMacs are the overheating and throttling issues when rendering projects or using Windows for CAD Works.
same her, I still have my intel 5k iMacs 2020 model bootcamp. The heat generated is so true, my room felt like sauna after 1-2 hours gaming. Thinking to buy the Mini Pro soon.
@ Me too, I still have my 2020 5K iMac 🖥️ (i7 CPU, 64GB RAM, 5700 XT GPU). Mac mini M4/Pro are great and work well for all computing tasks with minimal to no heat during peak usage, also you can buy an external NVMe SSD and use it with Windows on parallels desktop (VM Machines), for my work I’m thinking about upgrading to dual setup and buy the LG 5K display to use with the computers. Or maybe just buy Mac Pro 2019 and use it as a dual boot (for CAD and 3D rendering).
Okay, here are my thoughts... I will have a Mac Mini M4Pro (24GB) in my hands tomorrow. (I am in Australia, and the first shipment to Apple Stores is tomorrow, 8th November. I hit the pre-order button the moment the M4 went live on Apple Australia's website to get in early. The first shipment has now sold out, and anyone who orders now won't get it till the 22nd of November in Oz). I am coming from a Mac Mini M1 with 8GB, which I've had since 2020. It has handled everything I've thrown at it and has been a brilliant machine. I mainly do video editing and photo editing. So, the M4Pro will be a big upgrade for me. In my opinion, it is the best PC Apple has ever released for the money in recent times, and it should serve me well for at least the next 5 years. The thing is this... More and more photo editing software is including AI functions (like Luminar Neo that I use), and while current AI functions can be handled okay now, future more powerful AI functions and even what will be added to Apple Intelligence will require more RAM and CPU processing power... That's where the M4Pro will really shine. You mentioned that you would prefer 48GB of RAM in your M4Pro, and I also heard you say you also have a zillion tabs open while doing video editing... In my opinion, when doing 4K video editing or running any other computer-intensive software, the trick is to only run that app and close down everything else to maximise memory. If you need to have a whole lot of browser tabs open, then keep your old Mac Mini M1 and use that on a separate screen next to your M4Pro... That way, 24GB (base model) will be fine for 95% of 4K editing.
Im also here on the Gold Coast mate and have a M4, 1 TB 32 unified and 10 GIG Ethernet $2,200. I have just bought the 40" Curved Dell monitor and its incredible with its Hub structure as well, that was only $2,400 delivered. The reason i am with my reply is have you found a good external with 20TB ?
@@dannieduplessis2432 In terms of external drives, I am currently using a combination of a RAID 10 external ProRaid enclosure running 4 x 1TB drives for important stuff. (This gives me 2TB with mirroring on the other 2TB for redundancy). Then, I use a number of SanDisk Professional G-Drive 1TB Portable NVMe SSD's for general backup. a 20TB would be nice, but I prefer to break storage down to smaller drives, in case the one big drive fails.
I'm going to be picking up the Pro with 48GB of RAM and CPU bump. Practically all of my big files are external already (iTunes library etc) so 512 should be good enough. Thunderbolt NVME storage will be more than fast enough for any future expansions I may need. It'll be replacing a 2013 27" iMac, so a rather considerable upgrade. It'll be sat along side my M3 MacBook Pro, which sadly gets less use than I'd like but oh well lol. This will basically be replacing my system for the next 5-10 years depending on how things go and what I may need in the future. I'm going to hold off on getting a new monitor too and just use my second PC display and see how these new Asus and BenQ 5K displays turn out. And how expensive they are lol.
Haven’t read all the comments, so someone else has probably mentioned this, but I suspect your issue (and mine) is that your configuration is considered ‘custom’. Apple probably ships the Minis in a couple standard combinations of RAM and drives. Only Apple is set up to assemble Minis with personal choices. Purely a logistical situation. Just my 1€.
I just realised yesterday that the M4 mini could be configured to 32GB RAM while the storage stays at 256GB. That’s great, I’m getting a 32/256 one early next year. I have a spare 2TB SSD laying around, although it’s a KIOXIA G2, probably the slowest PCIe 3.0 drive on peak performance you can buy right now, but it does have DRAM, its random read/write and sustained performance is better than most other 3.0 drives, so I’ll put it into an USB4 enclosure and boot off it to see how it performs. If it’s good enough then I’ll keep using it. I already bought a 3TB portable hard drive and built a 4TB desktop hard drive, ready to use them as Time Machine backups for the new Mac mini.
Nice to see your channel grow Craig, been here since the beginning. I have a 2017 iMac and it's getting very slow on 4K video-editing. I'm thinking of getting the 64gb mac mini pro with 1tb ssd. I hope I will manage with it for the rest of my life. 😅 Then I need a good 4K budget monitor, any recommendations?
I appreciate the support for sure. Yes, if you get that it will work for many years. Watch my latest video and I love the standard M4 with an upgraded SSD.
Nice video but there is something I don't understand. Why would someone be looking for a computer that is fast enough for heavy video editing + be able to have 30+ browser tabs open? I'm actually looking to upgrade from a MBP 2011 to a MacMiniM4 24gb/512gb and the muscle to have 30+ tabs open makes no sense to me.
I have heard and read that the high transfer rate on the Thunderbolt 5 ports are for video only, not SSDs and would require pci 5 bus support which is not available on external SSD enclosures.
I’m waiting for people to get them in their hands before I decide. The base model will probably more than fulfill my needs. However, I keep looking at the pro model since I tend to use my Macs for 8 -10 years before I upgrade. I’m currently using a 2017 MBP and before that my daily driver was my 2006 Mac Pro.
IMO the M4P pro is a waste of money under that scenario. It's 3x the price of the M4 base configuration. Unless you're doing hard core video editing with large image/video files and lots of tabs, at most you could upgrade to 24GB of RAM and be happy for four years. Look at the progress Apple has made since the M1. The M4 is almost 2x as powerful in CPU performance and more than 2X in video according to Apple. In four years, simply upgrade again for the M8 (or whatever they call it) and you're not only (likely) to be in at a similar overall price, but you'll be using the latest silicon which will almost undoubtedly be more power-efficient. They may even introduce new features that won't be available in M4 Pro chips. Imo, planning to hold onto a system for 8 years based on today's performance and at Apple's prices for the M4 Pro is not a good buy. Only buy the M4P if you need that performance immediately.
@@Alienfanatic All valid points. My situation is one more of want than need and I’ve been saving for a while in preparation for an Apple Silicon upgrade. I’m willing to spend for the pro, but I definitely won’t if I find I’ll be totally satisfied with the base configuration. =)
@@AlienfanaticWhat about AI? Do we really know how much processing power it’s going to need if most of the work is being done locally? This seems to me to be the likely scenario in the future, not just for privacy reasons but because LLMs are using an increasing amount of power. There’s a reason behind Microsoft’s involvement in getting Three Mile Island up and running again. I’m betting on needing a more powerful processor and maximising RAM.
Insta 360 4K 20 minute video takes about an hour to transfer to my 2015 iMac 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 with 24GB DDR3. The playback stutters and slows down and the annoying beach ball appears periodically 😒. I'm done with this and since I keep my machines a minimum of 6 years I purchased the Mini M4 Pro 14/20 core. 64GB, 4TB SSD for the win 😄.
I think the biggest question here is "where are you getting all these vouchers from?!" Seriously I think you picked the right option for you, but for other (no tech review), youtubers maybe the vanilla M4 with 512 or 1Tb would be the sweet spot.
I've installed macOS to an USB4 external enclosure with NVME. You can go with internal 256GB but ensure you get the RAM you want as you cannot upgrade that. Right now I don't use the storage on my Mac Mini at all its all ran off my external. I use the ACASIS TBU 401 Pro with Gen 4 NVME and get around 2500mbps read and write and thats with 1TB filled of 2TB. You can get 2TB with that external enclosure for under $200. You can go cheaper and get those $20-$30 enclosures but I would only go with PCI Gen 3 NVME's at that point, they get too hot to sustain performance and I would not install the entire macOS on that kind of setup because of throttling issues from overheating. I did that before and it works great as a second drive, 4k videos editing had no issues from those cheaper enclosures. You can start there, and then upgrade later and even migrate your internal macOS to external via the macOS Migration tool after you install the OS on your external.
My goodness Craig I’ve been in the same hole the last two days trying to decide. My primary source is Best Buy due to credit and 18 month financing but the options I want are only through Apple. They really locked it down this year. Thanks for the great video.
Craig, given your experience with fast external drives, could you say more about why these are not an option rather than getting bigger internal storage? For instance, would it be feasible to add couple terabyte drive to the base m4 mini and edit videos off that? Thanks [edit: I mistakenly wrote “external” rather than “internal” storage. Craig provided a helpful answer anyway!]
With the amount of USB4/TB3 external enclosure options, I think users would be better served focusing on getting the CPU and RAM specs they need. The cost of the enclosure + SSD would be less than Apple's upcharge to go from 256 to 512 or 512 to 1 TB (And depending on the enclosure and SSD you get, it may even be faster than the stock SSD!). The other advantage is that if you decide to upgrade to a new model in the future...that enclosure can be plugged into your new mac.
I am set on getting the M4 Pro Mac Mini with the higher processor and 1TB SSD, but I am torn between selecting 24 GB RAM or 64 GB RAM. I plan to use this machine primarily for Final Cut Pro for 4K video editing and Photoshop. Do you think I need to upgrade the RAM, or would 24 GB suffice for my needs and save me $600?
You upgraded the ram on your 2017 iMac, how difficult was that? Is it so difficult that I would need a tutorial video since I am not familiar with how to go about upgrading the ram on a computer. Is it plug and play for the novice? Can you give the name or a link to the ram that you used? Thanks
What about a MacBook Pro with a max chip? You can get a nice adapter with multiple displays. I got a MacBook Pro 14” M3 Max for the wife with a nice big apple studio monitor. Works great. The computer was on sale at Best Buy. She has some issues with her eyes. That resolution is awesome!
For basic video editing and multi tasking, would it be better to get the base Mac Mini m4 with upgraded 512g hard drive for $769 or the M2 Pro 10 core 16 core gpu, 16gb memory and 512gb storage for $899 on sale. These are the options through Costco.
As a base M2 Pro user curious to see how much better a base M4 Pro would be. I sometimes bump up against the memory limit but the M2 does not skip a beat and the memory graph goes yellow. Maybe I will wait until they show up on the refurb store in 8 months of I think I will see any benefits.
@@craigneidel I have the base M2 Pro which has 16GB. I only run the OS and Apps off the Mini. I use 3 NVME 2TB drives for storage. One as my "home" directory, one for FCP (just light 4K videos likes yours from my iPhone and GoPro) and the third as my video/photo library with LR. I still have 370GB of space remaining on the internal SSD. Plenty of headroom for the OS to trash that disk for virtual memory for many years. Coming from a 2015 27" iMac with 32GB of RAM, the M2 base Pro has met and probably exceeded my expectations. It's DEAD quiet. I almost went with a Base Studio and now can confirm that would have been a waste of money. Let's see what the tests says in the coming months.
@@craigneidel Made it to the Apple Store to test my M2 Base Pro Mini against the Base M4 (non pro) Mini. I exported a few 4k H.264, MPEG-4 AAC files from an SSD I brought to the store loaded with 4k GoPro files. For a 35m35s video my Mini took 19:55 to export where the M4 mini took 18:53, a full minute faster. For a shorter 2m6s 4K video my M2 Pro took 1:11 to export versus the M4 base Mini at 1:03. Nothing big, but somewhat astonishing considering this was the cheapest M4 Mac Mini with a 10-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU while my M2 Mac Mini Pro has the same 10-core CPU but a 16-core GPU.
My guess is you could. I have a 4K Samsung monitor that is dual used by my M1 MBP 13" in clamp shell mode and a Mini PC running Win11Pro. MPB is hooked up with Display Port and Win11 with HDMI. Just have to toggle the "source" button to get to which OS I need using at that time. My only gripe with this setup is the mini PC has to be rebooted almost every time where MacOS sleeps and wakes up perfectly when I select Display Port from HDMI. And I sometimes get confused what wireless keyboard and trackpad set to use with which OS when I switch hahaha But seeing both you intend to use are MacOS then you probably sorted. Hope it works. My only interest in this video is because of Mac Mini SFF and should be about the same size as the Mini PC. Less clutter on my desk.
Not really unless you run Open Core on it. I did a video on this if you search my channel but it was on the M1 or higher iMacs. But for older iMacs you need to be running Open core and upgrade to the most recent OS.
I just lost my 2017 iMac that had 64 gigs of ram. A hacker went into my computer and killed my hard drive. Now I don’t know which mac to buy. I am so confused.
I have a M1 with 16gb that is plenty fast enough to edit 4k using Davinci. I think you would be better off getting the base model using an external hard drive and holding onto that extra cash/gift cards for what you are thinking of spending. With the money you saved you could buy another base model m5 when it comes out that would be leaps ahead of anything you buy this year sell off the m4 and repeat for the m6.
Not a bad idea. For my channel I test SSD drives Macs for external storage. So for the channel I might get the higher model but we will see. I want to test thunderbolt 5. Thanks for the post.
Does m1 with 16GB handle fusion without any issue? I mostly use templates from envato or davinci transitions provided.Will it work without any issue? Currently using 2015 MBP 16GB ram and it can’t handle the transitions.
@@princepranay I can use it for what I do but you might find more ram would be beneficial. I have a MacBook Pro M1 Max with 32gb as my other machine and I haven't had to switch to that yet if that helps.
I pre-ordered the MP4 Pro Max mini and it’s probably more horsepower than I’ll ever need. If you want to upgrade that from 24GB of ram you must have one helluva work load.
Thank yo for the Video, I am debating what to get for some days now and I am still not sure :) I do mostly Photography and edit in Lightroom and Photoshop so I guess the M4 should be good enough even if I do panoramas with 8 and more images from my Canon R7 (32MB) every now and then I do some Video editing with Premiere Pro but nothing crazy, mostly family and friends stuff. If going for the M4 I plan on 512 GB and 32GB Ram do you think that is sufficient for my plans?
Tbh I think the thunderbolt 5 is really for 8k displays mainly… the only other thing is if you go to the Max chip you get twice the media encoders which is a big thing for video editors if you do this often - great video though. You’re spot on 😊 -
I haven't used macs since early 2000s, my questions is, how much of the OS does mac take away from the 256ssd? Will updates significantly decrease the amount of space on the ssd?
@@redesignedlife777 Ok thank you very much for answering my question. I think I'll skip ordering a mac mini. I refuse to pay $200 extra for a measly extra 256g ssd
im totally on the fence atm... been using and still in love with my 2017 iMac 5k... really been considering the new mac mini pro. but then i cant find that perfect monitor/webcam/speakers combo :( studio display is just overpriced :(:(
Im also here in Australia mate and have a M4, 1 TB 32 unified and 10 GIG Ethernet $2,200. I have just bought the 40" Curved Dell monitor and its incredible with its Hub structure as well, that was only $2,400 delivered, incredibly cheap for what was around 10 years ago and that is what i am replacing. The reason i am with my reply is have you found a good external with 20TB ?
Here I already have external 3.5 inch Seagate 22TB HDD which I'll be connecting to my Mini. I'm just confused which one should I go after? M4, 512GB, 24GB or M4 Pro, 512GB, 24GB.
@@craigneidel AUD. Amazon have 20Tb for $500+ but not that much more. They have specials every now & again where you can save $150 on the usual pricing.
I agree with you on the M4 Pro Mini. That is the model I am looking to buy. I am keeping the base model but I think 24 GB of RAM will be fine. That said, I would go ahead and get the 1 TB SSD. Unless I find a good Thunderbolt drive :-). Great Video and I appreciate your insights.
My configuration is similar. . M4 Pro 48gb RAM 1TB SSD 10gigabit Ethernet. . My recommendation is to bite the bullet and order what you want. Stockpile those gift certificates and use them to offset other dollars you will spend later. Good luck!
Yeah, I should do that but for my channel I switch so fast I wanted to use them but I'll need to decide soon. The M5s are around the corner too which is crazy...
The M1 MacBook Air that I bought last year is still plenty for me. Almost ANY mini would be fine, but I think I'll wait for probably the M6. I only buy from Amazon or Best Buy if they're running a big sale or something.
Real question is if the 256gb storage is slower than the 512gb, like in some MacBooks - it’s the same SOC model. I would just bite the bullet and get as much RAM as possible and 512GB or even a 1TB. The other factor, is if you don’t have enough memory, you’re using your SSD internal for swap space and that with ssd wear leveling, can reduce performance dramatically if you’re swapping a lot after a few years. If the system will last you 5-7 years like you iMac, then the additional cost is just not a factor really. But I totally get the issue with having gift certificates that you can’t use. I actually have the opposite problem. I’ve been buying my systems from B&H, and I have Apple gift certificates lying around…
Considering it has 16GB of RAM base, 256GB single or double chips wouldn’t matter too much, since the previous 8/256 run out of RAM quicker and use swap more, the slower SSD could be more obvious.
If someone wants 32GB RAM and 512GB storage, what is better? Option 1: One Mac Mini with 32GB RAM and 512GB storage Option 2: Two Mac Minis with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage each You’re basically getting the same total RAM and storage for a similar price, but with two separate machines. It seems odd that upgrading one Mac Mini from 256GB storage and 16GB RAM to 512GB and 32GB costs $600, yet for the same amount, you could buy a whole second Mac Mini with those specs.
Spot on piece as usual that I relate to with Apple making it difficult. I want to purchase a Mac mini but want: RAM (32GB) / Storage (1TB) / Gigabit Ethernet that I can not get from Best Buy. I have a large Best Buy credit from a not inexpensive Lenovo laptop purchased with Geek Squad Protection for my son in college that could not be repaired after 4 weeks. Aware that Geek Squad Protection is not valuable in reality compared with the sale and immediately had to replace his laptop when it was having issues before brining to Best Buy. My use case is recreational FXPX and storage will continue to be an issue. Do you think Gigabit Ethernet makes sense for only $100 to be able to possibly use NAS storage? Currently I use 4TB SanDisk Pro Thunderbolt 3 drives. Assume a multi bay Thunderbolt 5 storage device in the future would work better and the NAS only really valuable for sharing.
my iMac m1 starts to have issues, first my green lighting cable broke now iMac keeps crashing each couple of days with same use, my iMac is reaching its limits, since I can ofc no longer play dying light on it, after checking prices and from my experience I have to say the best device to buy is MacBook Pro 14.2 inch with pro chip, I have 3 reasons why, first is iMac is unreliable on keyboard already brought my second keyboard from apple, my lighting cable broke, and Mac starts to crash and feel sluggish even with 16gb of ram, second reason is its cheapest and most reliable option imo to get MacBook Pro, but why not m4 base model is because for bit more you get double the specs and more reliabliable during years of use, and last reason is all in one, no extra additional buying accessories along as you have wifi or iPhone to provide network to device, and based on price it is best value per performance, base m4 pro chip, if you upgrade that you have to pick between extra specs on small model or large model, and past that is max which is the best but costs double the price of m4 pro chip so pay double for chip or just get a reliable device that can do all and avoid upgrades if possible because that is the trap, ssd I must say 1tb is needed anyway so that is a small compromise, ideally if doing that upgrade to upgrade chip of pro for extra cores, but that is when 16.2 inch comes in to play where it gets annoying, light ups to pro larger model and you can get max, and when you get max bit more and you have latest tech, so ya it is a pain in the ass, cheapest way is to use iCloud storage and limit your actions on Mac for regular user, for heavy storage user no salvation, add ons.PS, hope you're doing great, I'm having hard time picking stuff up since I'm always debating if I need it or not, right now I brought last month my new iPhone 16 pro max on payment over time and it was worth for device but I picked bad payment plan, last month I also ordered link bracelet 350$ expensive apple band for future ultra 2 watch, I got one used but was blocked by previous owner and I returned it griefing since it was in perfect condition and I keep getting calls from mag telling me how I felt about my watch experience and if I can unlock a device was not mine, to start with my email is yahoo not gmail that previous owner had, so ya it is a pain in the ass to be claimed lier by their stupid resell program, never buying resealed products again ofc I returned it, but since I love the looks of it I want to get one for myself so I got the preorder for band first since it was cheaper, and now I'm also debating if I should get MacBook Pro first or watch on use I use MacBook Pro more than watch, but I also use watch daily when I'm outside and at work.
I have not had issues with my M1 iMac but it sucks if you are having them. Good luck with everything and I just picked up a M4 Mac mini on my last video.
Pease comment below: I agree with this guy fully! I’m a basic user and I’m swapping out my M2Air that’s fully loaded for a basic Mini Pro . The only way for me to get the pro now was to order basic config from Apple. Even though I’m a very simple basic user, I wanted the better GPU and 48 Ram but it pushed the dates out far and the cost was high. So, with the basic pro and only 512gn I’m using a TB4 cable to a Samsung 990 SSD 2TB which should read write fast enough for anyone and the cost will still be super low and should suffice. Did I miss anything or make an incorrect assumption? Please let me know if I should make any changes?
It’s pretty much the same thing as last year… by the time you make the changes to the mini you’re at the base Studio.. so you may as will buy the OOB Studio and use those gift cards. I do like the form factor of the new Mini.. but I have no use case for it.. plus in general I’d see how the form factor works in real life. If I were you I’d be concerned that the iMacs are short lived given you can mount a mini behind a Studio monitor.
I have the same problem with Costco gift cards. I want the new iPad Pro with cellular and they don’t sell it. The Mac Mini will have to wait a few years because my current M2 Pro is fine for what I do. Maybe I should start putting money aside now so when I do need to upgrade, I can just walk into the Apple Store, like I did for my last phone, and use a combination of trade-in credit, the cash neighbours insist on giving me for walking their dogs and whatever’s in my daily chequeing account. If I start today, that could be one mighty machine.
Thanks for watching. Yes, the M2 Pro is fine for almost everyone and to be honest I only upgrade due to my channel. I have the M2 Air and it's fine too.
This is my frustration with Apple in a nutshell. They intentionally design their base configurations to be inadequate for most users. At first glance, the price seems like a great deal, but when you realize the 256GB storage and base RAM won't cut it, you're forced to consider upgrades. Just upgrading to 512GB of storage nearly doubles the cost. Add another 8GB of RAM, and you're hit with a $200 charge. Suddenly, that $599 deal balloons to $1,300. It's a classic bait-and-switch strategy, and it's clear this is intentional to extract more money from customers. There's no good reason why Apple couldn't design these machines with user-expandable options. Why not include an extra slot for RAM or make it easy to swap out the SSD when you outgrow the meager 256GB? But no, Apple locks everything down, forcing you to make expensive upgrades at purchase. It's like a car dealership offering a "great deal" on a stripped-down model, only to upsell you on essential features until the price triples. The whole process feels exploitative-nickel-and-diming customers at every step. Total ripoff!
I would buy a 256 Gb M1 Mac Mini in preference to a 256 Gb M2 Mac Mini. This is because The SSD in the 256 Gb M1 Mac Mini consists of two 128 Gb flash modules, whereas the SSD in the M2 Mac Mini consists of only one 256 Gb Gb flash module which is half as fast as two modules. This leads to the most important question about the 256 Gb M4 Mac Mini. Does the 256 Gb M4 Mac Mini have two 128 Gb flash modules or only one 256 Gb Flash module? If the £599 M4 model has two modules then it is a very good buy. Otherwise the 512 Gb £799 M4 model is the only sensible choice.
I want to get the m4 pro mini, but of course the store that I’ll be getting it at only has the m4 with 256 gigs of storage on their site. They have the M4 MacBooks, though. The m4 pro MacBook Pro will come up to over $3000, so it looks like I’ll be stuck getting the base m4 MacBook Pro. I hope with the 16 gigs of ram and 512 storage will last at least 8 or 9 years if all I’m doing is writing and surfing the internet, and not downloading any other apps. I have an old 4 gig ram, 500 storage acer laptop 14 years old that’s still going. Dead battery and slow, but still going.
@ Ordering a Mac online isn’t an option for me. Will the base m4 MacBook Pro last for years if all I do is write, surf the internet, keep the A.I. turned off, and just use the apps the are already on there? I’ve read that MacBooks pros can last 7-10 years if you take care of them and don’t use it for heavy workloads. Would this be true with the base m4 MacBook Pro?
Yes! Use those discounts to the hilt! Get more machine for your buck; it's "for the channel," so why not splurge? Those Thunderbolt 5 ports will be great since YOU will have stuff for yours to do, that's for sure. Out in the sticks here...in Honolulu...I can't find any drives built to the Thunderbolt standard to even try out. The Thunderbolt 3 ports on my M1 Macs are just used as USB-C ports. The Thunderbolt-spec cables alone cost at least $160...which is more than I pay for a spinning rust 4TB or a 2TB SSD. It's hard NOT to like these machines! Maybe I'll get one when Asahi Linux runs on the M4 chip. That'll be my excuse to buy one.😆🤣 From my own experience, I would be happy with 16GB of RAM, but I'd have to get my next Mac Mini with 1TB of storage so I can fit most of my music collection PLUS have several hundred GB left over for the Linux partition. Enjoy the heck out of your M4! Looking forward to seeing you put it through its paces. Aloha.
Apple don’t want people purchasing machines that they wont outgrow fast.. they want you to purchase the lower options because they know it wont be enough in around 6 years max
Can’t answer for him, but personally it does help me to have different devices for different purposes. So I have multiple offices and desks set up for different tasks and hobbies. So I make music at one, I write books and read books at another, and another is just for entertainment. It helps to have machines dedicated to specific things, that way you don’t get distracted and can pick up wherever you left off.
Yes, how can you have a Mac channel without buying Macs. It's like a job and I need to spend money in order to make videos for people. Otherwise I'm just guessing.
The Mac Mini is not on my buy list. Main reason is Apple once again being so mean with the size of the SSD, to have only 256GB and then asking AUD 300 for an additional 256GB is criminal. Get real Apple
New sub here. Great channel. Would you be so kind as to answer a couple of questions. I mostly use Final Cut Pro & Photoshop to create videos on my Billy Luna Crime Stories YT channel. I am working in 1080p, but should probably start working in 4k. Currently I am using a 2019 Intel Macbook Pro with 16 g of ram and a 512 HD. I am Using a Sandisk Extreme Pro SSD (2TB & 4TB) to edit off whilst using FCP. 1) For my needs, which exact configuration of the new M4 Mac Mini should I get? 2) Can I get maximum speed via Thunderbolt 4 or 5 using a Sandisk Extreme Pro SSD? I would really like to save $ by not going with the pricey Apple storage & sticking with the externals. Thank you!
Thank you for the sub. To be honest if you are working in 1080P and my go to 4K I'm guessing your videos will be more like my level of complexity. The Mac mini with the M4 chip is fine I would guess but I would maybe get the 24 GB min on the ram. The base M4 Pro Mac mini is another good choice if you want a bit more power. I mean even the M4 chip is faster then the M3 Pro chip from just a few months ago so it really comes down to I guess how long you will keep it. Also, yes external storage is fast enough. I have done a ton of videos on fast external storage on my channel at up to 3500 MB/s and that is more than enough with Thunderbolt 4. But if you get the Pro you will get Thunderbolt 5 and external storage can go up to 6000 MB/s but trust me you don't need that in reality. In fact I use a 1000 MB/s external SSD to do video editing off of just fine and even in 4K.
@@craigneidel In terms of my Final Cut Pro & Photoshop use, If I went for the base model M4 Mac Mini do you think that 24g ram would be adequate or should I go 32g ram, and what is the minimum that I should upgrade the SSD to? Thank you!!!
I honestly think you will be fine. If you don't worry about it it should feel snappy enough for sure. Getting the 32 is only something you should do if you feel you can swing it and it kind of future proofs it but in reality I do some video editing with my M2 Air with 16 GB of ram and it works fine.
@@craigneidel So M4 with 32 RAM seems good. What about the SSD---For 4k Final Cut Pro and Photoshop, would I be okay with only a 512 SSD upgrade, or is there a (speed) benefit in going for 1TB? thank you!
Best is the base Pro at 24GB RAM and 512GB SSD, and the most future proofing. To save $$$ you can get the base M4 with 16GB but upgrade the SSD to 512GB, try it for 14 days extensively and you can return it to Apple within that window or replace it with the base pro if it wasn’t enough. The pro the future proof, but the base M4 is enough for what you’re doing. Editing: Always use a fast external NVME SSD in a thunderbolt enclosure so you dont fill up your boot drive and you dont wear it off. Easy peasy.
Apple created some very compelling hardware, but their available software is way too limited. If only I could load Linux on this box, it would open a whole world of software.
Why do we care what Mac mini you’re buying? What interests me is what Mac mini you’re buying for me! Joking aside, not interested in the Mac mini waiting for the Mac studio or the Mac Pro.
Yeah.. I tend to get them from family so I can buy anything since I review things like external SSDs. Yes it's an easy fix but more about how you can't get custom configs from big box stores.
I got two low end LGs (one was refurbished) last year and they’re working fine with my M2 Pro for videoconferencing and working with PDFs, my most important daily tasks. You won’t find much support info on the LG site because their target market is Windows, but I’ve been able to do all the adjustments I need in my Mac’s display settings. As long as they both have HDMI you should be fine.
Honestly Logic runs fantastic on my 16GB but obviously more is better. Also Logic doesn’t really struggle with any M machine core count, they all fly. I would get the M4 Pro Mini and an external ssd for sound libraries at a fraction of the cost.
you should go “ education $tore” route, and $top 😭! here’s my configuration : m4 pro 14 core cpu , 20 core GPU, 24GB unified memory ram, 512$$d storage, 10G ethernet , brutal specs for a total of 1,569🤑, im set, for at least the next 5 years , with a monster mac mini m4 pro chip.
I spent an entire week barreling over the MacBook 💻 Pro. Apple 🍎 really should understand at some point the pricing game is something they shouldn’t dig they heals in on. I assume the Macs purchase is to probably more less involved Customers that don’t know or question Apple. So that leaves us to gripe about this pricing insanity otherwise they would have cut this out. They are playing the long game. My sweet spot was MacBook Pro 14CPU/20GPU/48gb/1TB/TB5 only because I had to decide if at that point if I’m going to pay…let’s future proof some. But again, I again Apple is ridiculous for this.
Funny, buy maybe. I guess I just need to tell people to change what they give me but I normally don't like to do that either. Amazon allows me to buy other things like SSDs for testing etc. but I might need to do that funny.
@@craigneidel I actually deal with a LOT of news because I have been living off my portfolio for about the last decade. So, news and financial sites including Bloomberg, WSJ, Globe, Marketwatch, Barrons, and so on. Lot of Amazon tabs for new book title reminders. Lot of YT tabs.
People have to up the memory option - with AI functions - they tend to be real memory hogs and we only have opened the door or them. Apple gave us a hint they know something with upgrading base models from 8 to 16. Future proof yourself.
Greed is definitely the reason, it’s Apple’s business M O and it punishes loyal customers. Apple should introduce a loyalty program if it would offer value to customers
You lose out on the powerful new CPU, but it isn't a loss. You still have 2 Type A ports, power button is at a better location, and there is the Satechi docking station that works perfectly with it.
I'll be looking forward to your evaluation of your M4 Pro Mini and enclosures. I'm in a similar situation for basic photo editing (LrC and PS). I don't need a Corvette to drive to the grocery store. Would it be nice to have? You bet but could I use all that "horsepower?" Probably not. Pride of ownership is one thing but it can get expensive if not needed.
Yes, or even Apple cards. Funny but I normally like Amazon since I can then get anything but I guess it's an easy fix. But the video was more about how the big box stores only sell very specific models.
Should I like this video? “Let’s talk about it”😂
Not bad
@@JessDeRavenna I see what you did there and I like it
Thanks for watching.
Here’s my hot take, when it comes to video editing, Apple really wasn’t wrong when they said 8 gigs feels closer to 16 gigs. Here’s why: When a PC with CUDA acceleration decodes video, it decodes a video file and stores that in RAM for smooth playback. But Apple’s M series of chips has native architecture specifically for H.265 and ProRes video decoding. Essentially, if your project is composed of these codecs, you don’t need to store the decoded video in RAM. I went from 64 gigs of RAM with an RTX 2080 and, a year later, an M1 Pro with 8 gigs of RAM basically made my huge rig redundant.
Of course, this doesn’t help anybody in terms of opening browser tabs and whatnot. But, for video editing, the native video decoding engine seriously changed the memory management game forever.
Thanks for the post and useful info you included. Appreciate that.
Anyone looking at the Mini with the M4 PRO chip.........only get the base model. As soon as you upgrade anything you are at $1799 which is silly. At that price I would get the Max Studio with the Max M2 Max chip which has same or more GPU and CPU as M4 plus 32gb of unified memory. Also you get not one, but video encoders. Better cooling and true no thunderbolt 5'w, but you get more overall ports. Also 400 bandwidth compared the 273 of the M4 Pro chip in the Mini.
Correct, max chips are better suited for video editing. Mac Studio is a much better product, I’d wait for the m4 version studio.
I just got the M4 Chip mac mini and love it. Check out my last video.
There's actually zero issues with the base models SSD transfer rate as previous models as the latest strip down tests have discovered here...The other thing we’ve learned is that the base Mac Mini’s module has two 128GB NAND chips instead of a single 256GB one, which means we don’t expect to see a performance bottleneck compared to the previously released base model M-Series Macs. Apple returned to two 128GB chips on the M3 MacBook Air released last April.
Watch my last video from November 19th. Some surprising findings as I now have the Mac mini.
Intel 5K iMacs are great for professional work and for most daily tasks also they support Windows Natively ( x86_64) using BootCamp, it's rare to find an identical display to use seperatly on PC/Mac (except Apple Studio Display and LG 5K Display). The only annoying issues with these Intel iMacs are the overheating and throttling issues when rendering projects or using Windows for CAD Works.
same her, I still have my intel 5k iMacs 2020 model bootcamp. The heat generated is so true, my room felt like sauna after 1-2 hours gaming. Thinking to buy the Mini Pro soon.
@ Me too, I still have my 2020 5K iMac 🖥️ (i7 CPU, 64GB RAM, 5700 XT GPU). Mac mini M4/Pro are great and work well for all computing tasks with minimal to no heat during peak usage, also you can buy an external NVMe SSD and use it with Windows on parallels desktop (VM Machines), for my work I’m thinking about upgrading to dual setup and buy the LG 5K display to use with the computers. Or maybe just buy Mac Pro 2019 and use it as a dual boot (for CAD and 3D rendering).
I always say get what works best for you as everybody is a bit different in their workload.
Okay, here are my thoughts... I will have a Mac Mini M4Pro (24GB) in my hands tomorrow. (I am in Australia, and the first shipment to Apple Stores is tomorrow, 8th November. I hit the pre-order button the moment the M4 went live on Apple Australia's website to get in early. The first shipment has now sold out, and anyone who orders now won't get it till the 22nd of November in Oz). I am coming from a Mac Mini M1 with 8GB, which I've had since 2020. It has handled everything I've thrown at it and has been a brilliant machine. I mainly do video editing and photo editing. So, the M4Pro will be a big upgrade for me. In my opinion, it is the best PC Apple has ever released for the money in recent times, and it should serve me well for at least the next 5 years. The thing is this... More and more photo editing software is including AI functions (like Luminar Neo that I use), and while current AI functions can be handled okay now, future more powerful AI functions and even what will be added to Apple Intelligence will require more RAM and CPU processing power... That's where the M4Pro will really shine. You mentioned that you would prefer 48GB of RAM in your M4Pro, and I also heard you say you also have a zillion tabs open while doing video editing... In my opinion, when doing 4K video editing or running any other computer-intensive software, the trick is to only run that app and close down everything else to maximise memory. If you need to have a whole lot of browser tabs open, then keep your old Mac Mini M1 and use that on a separate screen next to your M4Pro... That way, 24GB (base model) will be fine for 95% of 4K editing.
Im also here on the Gold Coast mate and have a M4, 1 TB 32 unified and 10 GIG Ethernet $2,200.
I have just bought the 40" Curved Dell monitor and its incredible with its Hub structure as well, that was only $2,400 delivered.
The reason i am with my reply is have you found a good external with 20TB ?
@@dannieduplessis2432 In terms of external drives, I am currently using a combination of a RAID 10 external ProRaid enclosure running 4 x 1TB drives for important stuff. (This gives me 2TB with mirroring on the other 2TB for redundancy). Then, I use a number of SanDisk Professional G-Drive 1TB Portable NVMe SSD's for general backup. a 20TB would be nice, but I prefer to break storage down to smaller drives, in case the one big drive fails.
lol at 50 tabs everytime
50 is a bit much but I normally have 20 open when I do my news videos.
Could you please comment how it is for you? I have the i7 macbook pro and really want the mini m4pro fullspec😂
I'm going to be picking up the Pro with 48GB of RAM and CPU bump. Practically all of my big files are external already (iTunes library etc) so 512 should be good enough. Thunderbolt NVME storage will be more than fast enough for any future expansions I may need. It'll be replacing a 2013 27" iMac, so a rather considerable upgrade. It'll be sat along side my M3 MacBook Pro, which sadly gets less use than I'd like but oh well lol. This will basically be replacing my system for the next 5-10 years depending on how things go and what I may need in the future. I'm going to hold off on getting a new monitor too and just use my second PC display and see how these new Asus and BenQ 5K displays turn out. And how expensive they are lol.
How, that will be a massive setup for you. But if you want to future proof you should be good to go.
The storage is usernupgradable right?
You like to tinker with the SSDs. Mac mini M4 should be perfect for that at least the SSD upgrade.
you can't upgrade it.
Could you make i video what display would be good for the mini?
I should be making it soon. I was waiting on new 5K monitors from BenQ and Asus but they are delayed in coming out.
Haven’t read all the comments, so someone else has probably mentioned this, but I suspect your issue (and mine) is that your configuration is considered ‘custom’. Apple probably ships the Minis in a couple standard combinations of RAM and drives. Only Apple is set up to assemble Minis with personal choices. Purely a logistical situation. Just my 1€.
Yes that could be it. But there would only be a few configs the big box stores would need to have. A few with upgraded ram and SSDs is all.
I’m getting the base Mac Mini and we need a video for the best 5k monitors especially the ones on sale for Black Friday/Cyber Monday
I'll be working on that.
I just realised yesterday that the M4 mini could be configured to 32GB RAM while the storage stays at 256GB. That’s great, I’m getting a 32/256 one early next year. I have a spare 2TB SSD laying around, although it’s a KIOXIA G2, probably the slowest PCIe 3.0 drive on peak performance you can buy right now, but it does have DRAM, its random read/write and sustained performance is better than most other 3.0 drives, so I’ll put it into an USB4 enclosure and boot off it to see how it performs. If it’s good enough then I’ll keep using it. I already bought a 3TB portable hard drive and built a 4TB desktop hard drive, ready to use them as Time Machine backups for the new Mac mini.
Yes, but watch my latest video on why you may want the 512 GB version.
I subscribed to your channel because you are a very down to earth, humble and funny guy 😁
thank you for that. Appreciate it.
Hey Craig!, Great video! Thank you.
thanks.
Can’t wait to see which monitors work best with your new Mac mini
I'm working on that.
Nice to see your channel grow Craig, been here since the beginning.
I have a 2017 iMac and it's getting very slow on 4K video-editing. I'm thinking of getting the 64gb mac mini pro with 1tb ssd. I hope I will manage with it for the rest of my life. 😅 Then I need a good 4K budget monitor, any recommendations?
I appreciate the support for sure. Yes, if you get that it will work for many years. Watch my latest video and I love the standard M4 with an upgraded SSD.
Nice video but there is something I don't understand. Why would someone be looking for a computer that is fast enough for heavy video editing + be able to have 30+ browser tabs open?
I'm actually looking to upgrade from a MBP 2011 to a MacMiniM4 24gb/512gb and the muscle to have 30+ tabs open makes no sense to me.
I do this all the time when I do the new videos. Cut in articles and also pic sites. I'm sure people do it.
I have heard and read that the high transfer rate on the Thunderbolt 5 ports are for video only, not SSDs and would require pci 5 bus support which is not available on external SSD enclosures.
You should get up to 80 Gbps on data side
I’m waiting for people to get them in their hands before I decide. The base model will probably more than fulfill my needs. However, I keep looking at the pro model since I tend to use my Macs for 8 -10 years before I upgrade. I’m currently using a 2017 MBP and before that my daily driver was my 2006 Mac Pro.
Yes, if you are planning on keeping it for that long I would buy more than you need now.
@@craigneidel Exactly. Longer legs and less waste. Not that I ever get rid of them. =)
IMO the M4P pro is a waste of money under that scenario. It's 3x the price of the M4 base configuration. Unless you're doing hard core video editing with large image/video files and lots of tabs, at most you could upgrade to 24GB of RAM and be happy for four years. Look at the progress Apple has made since the M1. The M4 is almost 2x as powerful in CPU performance and more than 2X in video according to Apple. In four years, simply upgrade again for the M8 (or whatever they call it) and you're not only (likely) to be in at a similar overall price, but you'll be using the latest silicon which will almost undoubtedly be more power-efficient. They may even introduce new features that won't be available in M4 Pro chips.
Imo, planning to hold onto a system for 8 years based on today's performance and at Apple's prices for the M4 Pro is not a good buy. Only buy the M4P if you need that performance immediately.
@@Alienfanatic All valid points. My situation is one more of want than need and I’ve been saving for a while in preparation for an Apple Silicon upgrade. I’m willing to spend for the pro, but I definitely won’t if I find I’ll be totally satisfied with the base configuration. =)
@@AlienfanaticWhat about AI? Do we really know how much processing power it’s going to need if most of the work is being done locally? This seems to me to be the likely scenario in the future, not just for privacy reasons but because LLMs are using an increasing amount of power. There’s a reason behind Microsoft’s involvement in getting Three Mile Island up and running again.
I’m betting on needing a more powerful processor and maximising RAM.
Insta 360 4K 20 minute video takes about an hour to transfer to my 2015 iMac 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 with 24GB DDR3. The playback stutters and slows down and the annoying beach ball appears periodically 😒.
I'm done with this and since I keep my machines a minimum of 6 years I purchased the Mini M4 Pro 14/20 core. 64GB, 4TB SSD for the win 😄.
It will now take 5 minutes. Trust me.
I think the biggest question here is "where are you getting all these vouchers from?!"
Seriously I think you picked the right option for you, but for other (no tech review), youtubers maybe the vanilla M4 with 512 or 1Tb would be the sweet spot.
I store the up from family on bdays and Christmas. Yes most should get M4 standard I do agree.
Very nice video, this gives me more information on the m4 pro chip. I think it’s where my price range is going to fall.
Yes the pro chip is the sweet spot.
Can you make a video on which MacBook Air to get?
I'll do some on the Air in the future but haven't decided on the topics yet. Thanks for watching the channel.
Is it possible to upgrade the memory and storage later on the new Mac mini or it is soldered on?
@@GoldFus1on you can't upgrade it
I've installed macOS to an USB4 external enclosure with NVME. You can go with internal 256GB but ensure you get the RAM you want as you cannot upgrade that. Right now I don't use the storage on my Mac Mini at all its all ran off my external. I use the ACASIS TBU 401 Pro with Gen 4 NVME and get around 2500mbps read and write and thats with 1TB filled of 2TB. You can get 2TB with that external enclosure for under $200. You can go cheaper and get those $20-$30 enclosures but I would only go with PCI Gen 3 NVME's at that point, they get too hot to sustain performance and I would not install the entire macOS on that kind of setup because of throttling issues from overheating. I did that before and it works great as a second drive, 4k videos editing had no issues from those cheaper enclosures. You can start there, and then upgrade later and even migrate your internal macOS to external via the macOS Migration tool after you install the OS on your external.
My goodness Craig I’ve been in the same hole the last two days trying to decide. My primary source is Best Buy due to credit and 18 month financing but the options I want are only through Apple. They really locked it down this year. Thanks for the great video.
Thanks. Yes I'm getting mine in about a week to. Decisions are tough this time.
Craig, given your experience with fast external drives, could you say more about why these are not an option rather than getting bigger internal storage? For instance, would it be feasible to add couple terabyte drive to the base m4 mini and edit videos off that? Thanks [edit: I mistakenly wrote “external” rather than “internal” storage. Craig provided a helpful answer anyway!]
Yes, you can do that for sure and watch my latest video since I picked one up. I just recommend getting the 512 GB version.
@ Thanks :)
My Mac M4, left the Chinese facility on November 6, and arrived in Newcastle upon Tyne, mid morning on November 8!
Nice and good luck with everything. I was traveling a bit to Portugal so I had a few delays.
With the amount of USB4/TB3 external enclosure options, I think users would be better served focusing on getting the CPU and RAM specs they need. The cost of the enclosure + SSD would be less than Apple's upcharge to go from 256 to 512 or 512 to 1 TB (And depending on the enclosure and SSD you get, it may even be faster than the stock SSD!). The other advantage is that if you decide to upgrade to a new model in the future...that enclosure can be plugged into your new mac.
Watch my video from Nov 19th today. I cover some of this.
I am set on getting the M4 Pro Mac Mini with the higher processor and 1TB SSD, but I am torn between selecting 24 GB RAM or 64 GB RAM. I plan to use this machine primarily for Final Cut Pro for 4K video editing and Photoshop. Do you think I need to upgrade the RAM, or would 24 GB suffice for my needs and save me $600?
Why not get 48 GB then? Also I feel 24 is enough but don't know your workflow so you should know better.
You upgraded the ram on your 2017 iMac, how difficult was that? Is it so difficult that I would need a tutorial video since I am not familiar with how to go about upgrading the ram on a computer. Is it plug and play for the novice? Can you give the name or a link to the ram that you used? Thanks
You can only do it on the 27" model and it takes 1 minute. There is a door on the back you open up and replace the chips. Super easy.
@ thanks,
You got it.
CN-
What of an off the shelf Macbook pro 14"❓
Keep up the good work! ✊🏾
I would go with the $1999 base M4 Pro version on the Macbook Pro
@@craigneidel With your vouchers included, not an a 1TB model given you will mostly dock it?
Good luck on your journey.
Thanks.
What about a MacBook Pro with a max chip? You can get a nice adapter with multiple displays. I got a MacBook Pro 14” M3 Max for the wife with a nice big apple studio monitor. Works great. The computer was on sale at Best Buy. She has some issues with her eyes. That resolution is awesome!
Most people don't need a Max chip unless they have a very specific reason.
what is the model of your white mouse?
It's a really basic logi mouse from Logitech - It was like 20 bucks but small which I like
@@craigneidel can you name the exact model please?
M170
For basic video editing and multi tasking, would it be better to get the base Mac Mini m4 with upgraded 512g hard drive for $769 or the M2 Pro 10 core 16 core gpu, 16gb memory and 512gb storage for $899 on sale. These are the options through Costco.
Nice and thanks for the info.
As a base M2 Pro user curious to see how much better a base M4 Pro would be. I sometimes bump up against the memory limit but the M2 does not skip a beat and the memory graph goes yellow. Maybe I will wait until they show up on the refurb store in 8 months of I think I will see any benefits.
@@epcalderhead how much ram do you have?
@@epcalderhead woops I assume 8. I have M2 air with 16 gb and can edit 4k just fine.
@@craigneidel I have the base M2 Pro which has 16GB. I only run the OS and Apps off the Mini. I use 3 NVME 2TB drives for storage. One as my "home" directory, one for FCP (just light 4K videos likes yours from my iPhone and GoPro) and the third as my video/photo library with LR. I still have 370GB of space remaining on the internal SSD. Plenty of headroom for the OS to trash that disk for virtual memory for many years. Coming from a 2015 27" iMac with 32GB of RAM, the M2 base Pro has met and probably exceeded my expectations. It's DEAD quiet. I almost went with a Base Studio and now can confirm that would have been a waste of money. Let's see what the tests says in the coming months.
Ok, thanks.
@@craigneidel Made it to the Apple Store to test my M2 Base Pro Mini against the Base M4 (non pro) Mini. I exported a few 4k H.264, MPEG-4 AAC files from an SSD I brought to the store loaded with 4k GoPro files.
For a 35m35s video my Mini took 19:55 to export where the M4 mini took 18:53, a full minute faster. For a shorter 2m6s 4K video my M2 Pro took 1:11 to export versus the M4 base Mini at 1:03.
Nothing big, but somewhat astonishing considering this was the cheapest M4 Mac Mini with a 10-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU while my M2 Mac Mini Pro has the same 10-core CPU but a 16-core GPU.
We have a 2019 I Mac with 5k monitor….it’s slow…can I piggyback one of these new minis on it so I don’t have to buy a new monitor?
My guess is you could. I have a 4K Samsung monitor that is dual used by my M1 MBP 13" in clamp shell mode and a Mini PC running Win11Pro. MPB is hooked up with Display Port and Win11 with HDMI. Just have to toggle the "source" button to get to which OS I need using at that time. My only gripe with this setup is the mini PC has to be rebooted almost every time where MacOS sleeps and wakes up perfectly when I select Display Port from HDMI. And I sometimes get confused what wireless keyboard and trackpad set to use with which OS when I switch hahaha But seeing both you intend to use are MacOS then you probably sorted. Hope it works. My only interest in this video is because of Mac Mini SFF and should be about the same size as the Mini PC. Less clutter on my desk.
Not really unless you run Open Core on it. I did a video on this if you search my channel but it was on the M1 or higher iMacs. But for older iMacs you need to be running Open core and upgrade to the most recent OS.
I just lost my 2017 iMac that had 64 gigs of ram. A hacker went into my computer and killed my hard drive. Now I don’t know which mac to buy. I am so confused.
Wow sorry to hear that . I would get Mac mini if you have a monitor or have money to buy one. iMacs are great to but it depends on what you are doing.
I have a M1 with 16gb that is plenty fast enough to edit 4k using Davinci. I think you would be better off getting the base model using an external hard drive and holding onto that extra cash/gift cards for what you are thinking of spending. With the money you saved you could buy another base model m5 when it comes out that would be leaps ahead of anything you buy this year sell off the m4 and repeat for the m6.
Not a bad idea. For my channel I test SSD drives Macs for external storage. So for the channel I might get the higher model but we will see. I want to test thunderbolt 5. Thanks for the post.
Does m1 with 16GB handle fusion without any issue? I mostly use templates from envato or davinci transitions provided.Will it work without any issue? Currently using 2015 MBP 16GB ram and it can’t handle the transitions.
@@princepranay I can use it for what I do but you might find more ram would be beneficial. I have a MacBook Pro M1 Max with 32gb as my other machine and I haven't had to switch to that yet if that helps.
Every case is different. I would say buy it and test it and then return if not working for your flow.
I pre-ordered the MP4 Pro Max mini and it’s probably more horsepower than I’ll ever need. If you want to upgrade that from 24GB of ram you must have one helluva work load.
I just do so much editing that I wanted the 32 GB but yeah I agree with you for sure.
I need a new Mac simply to use Lightroom Classic and Photoshop and have no idea what to opt for.
Basemodel + external TB3-4 storage
I think the base is fine but maybe 512 GB storage plus external storage.
Thank yo for the Video, I am debating what to get for some days now and I am still not sure :) I do mostly Photography and edit in Lightroom and Photoshop so I guess the M4 should be good enough even if I do panoramas with 8 and more images from my Canon R7 (32MB) every now and then I do some Video editing with Premiere Pro but nothing crazy, mostly family and friends stuff.
If going for the M4 I plan on 512 GB and 32GB Ram do you think that is sufficient for my plans?
Watch my newest video from November 19th as it could help.
Tbh I think the thunderbolt 5 is really for 8k displays mainly… the only other thing is if you go to the Max chip you get twice the media encoders which is a big thing for video editors if you do this often - great video though. You’re spot on 😊 -
Yes but for external storage it will get you up to about 6000 MB/s. Thanks for watching.
@ true yes when they’re gradually introduced
You get exactly the same issues in UK Apple stores, because these are the standard retail versions.
yes, for sure. They have everybody by the ....
I haven't used macs since early 2000s, my questions is, how much of the OS does mac take away from the 256ssd? Will updates significantly decrease the amount of space on the ssd?
That’s all 256 allows. Is just the OS and some software. lol….it’s pretty lame. I have a 1tb on my mac and i only have 150gb left.
@@redesignedlife777 Ok thank you very much for answering my question. I think I'll skip ordering a mac mini. I refuse to pay $200 extra for a measly extra 256g ssd
@@jorgem50 256 in 2024 is such a joke….. they should offer 1tb as starting default. Doesnt cost apple that much more.
The OS should only be like 25 GB rough estimate but other software you load will be the real issue.
@@redesignedlife777 Absolutely!! 512gb is so 2012. At the end of the day it's Apple doing what apple does. Their customers will pay no matter what
im totally on the fence atm... been using and still in love with my 2017 iMac 5k... really been considering the new mac mini pro. but then i cant find that perfect monitor/webcam/speakers combo :( studio display is just overpriced :(:(
Check out my channel for this monitor - BenQ MA320U
Im also here in Australia mate and have a M4, 1 TB 32 unified and 10 GIG Ethernet $2,200.
I have just bought the 40" Curved Dell monitor and its incredible with its Hub structure as well, that was only $2,400 delivered, incredibly cheap for what was around 10 years ago and that is what i am replacing.
The reason i am with my reply is have you found a good external with 20TB ?
Not 20 tb unless you want a spinning HDD. SSDs would be crazy expensive. I know tech is Australia is expensive. Is that USD?
Here I already have external 3.5 inch Seagate 22TB HDD which I'll be connecting to my Mini. I'm just confused which one should I go after? M4, 512GB, 24GB or M4 Pro, 512GB, 24GB.
@@craigneidel AUD. Amazon have 20Tb for $500+ but not that much more. They have specials every now & again where you can save $150 on the usual pricing.
@@mehulbrahmakshatriya Depends on what you want it for *?*
@@dannieduplessis2432 Video editing and a lot of rendering.
I agree with you on the M4 Pro Mini. That is the model I am looking to buy. I am keeping the base model but I think 24 GB of RAM will be fine. That said, I would go ahead and get the 1 TB SSD. Unless I find a good Thunderbolt drive :-). Great Video and I appreciate your insights.
I changed my mind a bit and watch my latest video. Of course though that video is about most users and not everybody.
My configuration is similar.
.
M4 Pro
48gb RAM
1TB SSD
10gigabit Ethernet.
.
My recommendation is to bite the bullet and order what you want. Stockpile those gift certificates and use them to offset other dollars you will spend later. Good luck!
Yeah, I should do that but for my channel I switch so fast I wanted to use them but I'll need to decide soon. The M5s are around the corner too which is crazy...
Base versions have pretty good resale value.. I'm thinking of just upgrading every year and selling the older version...
Not a bad idea since the base is only $599.
The hardware is good. The core software second rate. The applications are highly polished.
Not sure I agree if you are talking about the Mac mini.
B&H is the spot to find the different configurations
Yes it's a great store
The M1 MacBook Air that I bought last year is still plenty for me.
Almost ANY mini would be fine, but I think I'll wait for probably the M6.
I only buy from Amazon or Best Buy if they're running a big sale or something.
Yeah, I should of stated that but yes they are the only ones that have the sales too but they don't have all the configs which sometimes isn't great.
Real question is if the 256gb storage is slower than the 512gb, like in some MacBooks - it’s the same SOC model. I would just bite the bullet and get as much RAM as possible and 512GB or even a 1TB. The other factor, is if you don’t have enough memory, you’re using your SSD internal for swap space and that with ssd wear leveling, can reduce performance dramatically if you’re swapping a lot after a few years.
If the system will last you 5-7 years like you iMac, then the additional cost is just not a factor really. But I totally get the issue with having gift certificates that you can’t use. I actually have the opposite problem. I’ve been buying my systems from B&H, and I have Apple gift certificates lying around…
Considering it has 16GB of RAM base, 256GB single or double chips wouldn’t matter too much, since the previous 8/256 run out of RAM quicker and use swap more, the slower SSD could be more obvious.
Yes, watch my last video.
If someone wants 32GB RAM and 512GB storage, what is better?
Option 1:
One Mac Mini with 32GB RAM and 512GB storage
Option 2:
Two Mac Minis with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage each
You’re basically getting the same total RAM and storage for a similar price, but with two separate machines. It seems odd that upgrading one Mac Mini from 256GB storage and 16GB RAM to 512GB and 32GB costs $600, yet for the same amount, you could buy a whole second Mac Mini with those specs.
Yep crazy high for the upgrades
Try B&H for “custom” configurations
Yes, that is a good place for sure.
I’m looking forward to your review!
@@DaveKrans thanks for watching the channel
I made the same choice as you, but with a MacBook, not a Mac Mini, it should be enough
Yeah for sure.,.
If you keep a computer for 8 years, then $1000 model is perfect. I would suggest $600 model for people who upgrade a computer more frequently.
@@kamertonaudiophileplayer847 8 years is a long time for any computer to be honest. But these could last for sure.
Spot on piece as usual that I relate to with Apple making it difficult. I want to purchase a Mac mini but want: RAM (32GB) / Storage (1TB) / Gigabit Ethernet that I can not get from Best Buy. I have a large Best Buy credit from a not inexpensive Lenovo laptop purchased with Geek Squad Protection for my son in college that could not be repaired after 4 weeks. Aware that Geek Squad Protection is not valuable in reality compared with the sale and immediately had to replace his laptop when it was having issues before brining to Best Buy.
My use case is recreational FXPX and storage will continue to be an issue. Do you think Gigabit Ethernet makes sense for only $100 to be able to possibly use NAS storage? Currently I use 4TB SanDisk Pro Thunderbolt 3 drives. Assume a multi bay Thunderbolt 5 storage device in the future would work better and the NAS only really valuable for sharing.
Yeah, I hear you on that. Good luck with things.
my iMac m1 starts to have issues, first my green lighting cable broke now iMac keeps crashing each couple of days with same use, my iMac is reaching its limits, since I can ofc no longer play dying light on it, after checking prices and from my experience I have to say the best device to buy is MacBook Pro 14.2 inch with pro chip, I have 3 reasons why, first is iMac is unreliable on keyboard already brought my second keyboard from apple, my lighting cable broke, and Mac starts to crash and feel sluggish even with 16gb of ram, second reason is its cheapest and most reliable option imo to get MacBook Pro, but why not m4 base model is because for bit more you get double the specs and more reliabliable during years of use, and last reason is all in one, no extra additional buying accessories along as you have wifi or iPhone to provide network to device, and based on price it is best value per performance, base m4 pro chip, if you upgrade that you have to pick between extra specs on small model or large model, and past that is max which is the best but costs double the price of m4 pro chip so pay double for chip or just get a reliable device that can do all and avoid upgrades if possible because that is the trap, ssd I must say 1tb is needed anyway so that is a small compromise, ideally if doing that upgrade to upgrade chip of pro for extra cores, but that is when 16.2 inch comes in to play where it gets annoying, light ups to pro larger model and you can get max, and when you get max bit more and you have latest tech, so ya it is a pain in the ass, cheapest way is to use iCloud storage and limit your actions on Mac for regular user, for heavy storage user no salvation, add ons.PS, hope you're doing great, I'm having hard time picking stuff up since I'm always debating if I need it or not, right now I brought last month my new iPhone 16 pro max on payment over time and it was worth for device but I picked bad payment plan, last month I also ordered link bracelet 350$ expensive apple band for future ultra 2 watch, I got one used but was blocked by previous owner and I returned it griefing since it was in perfect condition and I keep getting calls from mag telling me how I felt about my watch experience and if I can unlock a device was not mine, to start with my email is yahoo not gmail that previous owner had, so ya it is a pain in the ass to be claimed lier by their stupid resell program, never buying resealed products again ofc I returned it, but since I love the looks of it I want to get one for myself so I got the preorder for band first since it was cheaper, and now I'm also debating if I should get MacBook Pro first or watch on use I use MacBook Pro more than watch, but I also use watch daily when I'm outside and at work.
I have not had issues with my M1 iMac but it sucks if you are having them. Good luck with everything and I just picked up a M4 Mac mini on my last video.
Pease comment below:
I agree with this guy fully!
I’m a basic user and I’m swapping out my M2Air that’s fully loaded for a basic Mini Pro .
The only way for me to get the pro now was to order basic config from Apple.
Even though I’m a very simple basic user, I wanted the better GPU and 48 Ram but it pushed the dates out far and the cost was high.
So, with the basic pro and only 512gn I’m using a TB4 cable to a Samsung 990 SSD 2TB which should read write fast enough for anyone and the cost will still be super low and should suffice.
Did I miss anything or make an incorrect assumption?
Please let me know if I should make any changes?
Yes, you made a fine decision and thanks for watching the channel.
It’s pretty much the same thing as last year… by the time you make the changes to the mini you’re at the base Studio.. so you may as will buy the OOB Studio and use those gift cards. I do like the form factor of the new Mini.. but I have no use case for it.. plus in general I’d see how the form factor works in real life. If I were you I’d be concerned that the iMacs are short lived given you can mount a mini behind a Studio monitor.
Yes, if you don't need to upgrade don't give Apple more money. I do agree with that for sure.
I used my Amazon certs to buy Apple credit to buy my Air last year 😀
Nice - I may need to try that.
I have the same problem with Costco gift cards. I want the new iPad Pro with cellular and they don’t sell it.
The Mac Mini will have to wait a few years because my current M2 Pro is fine for what I do.
Maybe I should start putting money aside now so when I do need to upgrade, I can just walk into the Apple Store, like I did for my last phone, and use a combination of trade-in credit, the cash neighbours insist on giving me for walking their dogs and whatever’s in my daily chequeing account. If I start today, that could be one mighty machine.
Thanks for watching. Yes, the M2 Pro is fine for almost everyone and to be honest I only upgrade due to my channel. I have the M2 Air and it's fine too.
Errors "shameless plus here", "36 gb" when the option is 32.
I put in a note in video when I first saw it but you win the award.
This is my frustration with Apple in a nutshell. They intentionally design their base configurations to be inadequate for most users. At first glance, the price seems like a great deal, but when you realize the 256GB storage and base RAM won't cut it, you're forced to consider upgrades.
Just upgrading to 512GB of storage nearly doubles the cost. Add another 8GB of RAM, and you're hit with a $200 charge. Suddenly, that $599 deal balloons to $1,300. It's a classic bait-and-switch strategy, and it's clear this is intentional to extract more money from customers.
There's no good reason why Apple couldn't design these machines with user-expandable options. Why not include an extra slot for RAM or make it easy to swap out the SSD when you outgrow the meager 256GB? But no, Apple locks everything down, forcing you to make expensive upgrades at purchase.
It's like a car dealership offering a "great deal" on a stripped-down model, only to upsell you on essential features until the price triples. The whole process feels exploitative-nickel-and-diming customers at every step. Total ripoff!
Yes, the storage is crazy for $200. I agree with that.
I would buy a 256 Gb M1 Mac Mini in preference to a 256 Gb M2 Mac Mini. This is because The SSD in the 256 Gb M1 Mac Mini consists of two 128 Gb flash modules, whereas the SSD in the M2 Mac Mini consists of only one 256 Gb Gb flash module which is half as fast as two modules.
This leads to the most important question about the 256 Gb M4 Mac Mini. Does the 256 Gb M4 Mac Mini have two 128 Gb flash modules or only one 256 Gb Flash module? If the £599 M4 model has two modules then it is a very good buy. Otherwise the 512 Gb £799 M4 model is the only sensible choice.
It does but watch my video from Today Nov. 19th. The 512 GB version has faster SSDs.
I want to get the m4 pro mini, but of course the store that I’ll be getting it at only has the m4 with 256 gigs of storage on their site. They have the M4 MacBooks, though. The m4 pro MacBook Pro will come up to over $3000, so it looks like I’ll be stuck getting the base m4 MacBook Pro. I hope with the 16 gigs of ram and 512 storage will last at least 8 or 9 years if all I’m doing is writing and surfing the internet, and not downloading any other apps. I have an old 4 gig ram, 500 storage acer laptop 14 years old that’s still going. Dead battery and slow, but still going.
Can you buy it from Apple as they normally have the 512 GB version. I just picked one up and did a video on it.
@ Ordering a Mac online isn’t an option for me. Will the base m4 MacBook Pro last for years if all I do is write, surf the internet, keep the A.I. turned off, and just use the apps the are already on there? I’ve read that MacBooks pros can last 7-10 years if you take care of them and don’t use it for heavy workloads. Would this be true with the base m4 MacBook Pro?
I don't see why not.
Yes! Use those discounts to the hilt! Get more machine for your buck; it's "for the channel," so why not splurge?
Those Thunderbolt 5 ports will be great since YOU will have stuff for yours to do, that's for sure.
Out in the sticks here...in Honolulu...I can't find any drives built to the Thunderbolt standard to even try out. The Thunderbolt 3 ports on my M1 Macs are just used as USB-C ports. The Thunderbolt-spec cables alone cost at least $160...which is more than I pay for a spinning rust 4TB or a 2TB SSD.
It's hard NOT to like these machines! Maybe I'll get one when Asahi Linux runs on the M4 chip. That'll be my excuse to buy one.😆🤣
From my own experience, I would be happy with 16GB of RAM, but I'd have to get my next Mac Mini with 1TB of storage so I can fit most of my music collection PLUS have several hundred GB left over for the Linux partition. Enjoy the heck out of your M4! Looking forward to seeing you put it through its paces. Aloha.
Aloha.... I may get two so I can compare them and then I can sell one. I'm curious how good the base model is. Thanks for your post.
@@craigneidel That sounds like a great idea! Aloha.
Aloha.
I just wanna build a great music recording mini.
I mean if it's for serious work the M4 pro Mac mini is a great system
Apple don’t want people purchasing machines that they wont outgrow fast.. they want you to purchase the lower options because they know it wont be enough in around 6 years max
That is a good point you made for sure.
For me the base M4 is enough.
For most I'm sure it will be as it's a great system for sure.
Look at the speed of thundertbold on m4pro and think agai
Yes, but nobody really needs external storage faster than 3400 MB/s which I can get on Thunderbolt 4.
Question mate, Why do you buy (NEED) all them Mac computers? I know you channel is about Mac computers but all the same.
Can’t answer for him, but personally it does help me to have different devices for different purposes. So I have multiple offices and desks set up for different tasks and hobbies. So I make music at one, I write books and read books at another, and another is just for entertainment. It helps to have machines dedicated to specific things, that way you don’t get distracted and can pick up wherever you left off.
Yes, how can you have a Mac channel without buying Macs. It's like a job and I need to spend money in order to make videos for people. Otherwise I'm just guessing.
The Mac Mini is not on my buy list. Main reason is Apple once again being so mean with the size of the SSD, to have only 256GB and then asking AUD 300 for an additional 256GB is criminal. Get real Apple
Yes, the SSD is an issue for sure.
New sub here. Great channel. Would you be so kind as to answer a couple of questions. I mostly use Final Cut Pro & Photoshop to create videos on my Billy Luna Crime Stories YT channel. I am working in 1080p, but should probably start working in 4k. Currently I am using a 2019 Intel Macbook Pro with 16 g of ram and a 512 HD. I am Using a Sandisk Extreme Pro SSD (2TB & 4TB) to edit off whilst using FCP.
1) For my needs, which exact configuration of the new M4 Mac Mini should I get?
2) Can I get maximum speed via Thunderbolt 4 or 5 using a Sandisk Extreme Pro SSD?
I would really like to save $ by not going with the pricey Apple storage & sticking with the externals. Thank you!
Thank you for the sub. To be honest if you are working in 1080P and my go to 4K I'm guessing your videos will be more like my level of complexity. The Mac mini with the M4 chip is fine I would guess but I would maybe get the 24 GB min on the ram. The base M4 Pro Mac mini is another good choice if you want a bit more power. I mean even the M4 chip is faster then the M3 Pro chip from just a few months ago so it really comes down to I guess how long you will keep it. Also, yes external storage is fast enough. I have done a ton of videos on fast external storage on my channel at up to 3500 MB/s and that is more than enough with Thunderbolt 4. But if you get the Pro you will get Thunderbolt 5 and external storage can go up to 6000 MB/s but trust me you don't need that in reality. In fact I use a 1000 MB/s external SSD to do video editing off of just fine and even in 4K.
@@craigneidel In terms of my Final Cut Pro & Photoshop use, If I went for the base model M4 Mac Mini do you think that 24g ram would be adequate or should I go 32g ram, and what is the minimum that I should upgrade the SSD to? Thank you!!!
I honestly think you will be fine. If you don't worry about it it should feel snappy enough for sure. Getting the 32 is only something you should do if you feel you can swing it and it kind of future proofs it but in reality I do some video editing with my M2 Air with 16 GB of ram and it works fine.
@@craigneidel So M4 with 32 RAM seems good. What about the SSD---For 4k Final Cut Pro and Photoshop, would I be okay with only a 512 SSD upgrade, or is there a (speed) benefit in going for 1TB? thank you!
Best is the base Pro at 24GB RAM and 512GB SSD, and the most future proofing.
To save $$$ you can get the base M4 with 16GB but upgrade the SSD to 512GB, try it for 14 days extensively and you can return it to Apple within that window or replace it with the base pro if it wasn’t enough. The pro the future proof, but the base M4 is enough for what you’re doing.
Editing: Always use a fast external NVME SSD in a thunderbolt enclosure so you dont fill up your boot drive and you dont wear it off.
Easy peasy.
I like how you justified the pro version here when we all know it’s your missus you are trying to justify your new mini pro to. We all do it. 😉
Thanks for watching and the post.
Apple created some very compelling hardware, but their available software is way too limited. If only I could load Linux on this box, it would open a whole world of software.
I tend to like MacOS but I have worked in a datacenter for 25 years so know Linux quite well.
Once I saw the 14/20 GPU mini pro benchmarks that's all I needed - I would be coming from an M2 pro so it will be a 2x upgrade - not bad 😂
Yes, should be noticable.
Upgrading the specs suck….. once you see the final price it’s crazy how they get you with the $$$$
Yes, if you upgrade the SSD twice it costs as much as the base model by itself.
Why do we care what Mac mini you’re buying? What interests me is what Mac mini you’re buying for me!
Joking aside, not interested in the Mac mini waiting for the Mac studio or the Mac Pro.
Why in the world would you then click on a video labeled "what Mac mini am I buying"? And then write a message about it. Hilarious...
i was waiting for this video! eh eh eh!!!
I should be getting one soon
Why don’t you just get gift cards for Apple Store in future?
Yeah.. I tend to get them from family so I can buy anything since I review things like external SSDs. Yes it's an easy fix but more about how you can't get custom configs from big box stores.
Great video!! I have two LG monitors that are probably 4 years old. Will those work woth the mini?
It should but it needs HDMI or USB connection for best results. I'm guessing they have HDMI. Thanks
@@craigneidelthanks. I should have said I'm using an HDMI.
I got two low end LGs (one was refurbished) last year and they’re working fine with my M2 Pro for videoconferencing and working with PDFs, my most important daily tasks.
You won’t find much support info on the LG site because their target market is Windows, but I’ve been able to do all the adjustments I need in my Mac’s display settings. As long as they both have HDMI you should be fine.
@@polishthedayThanks
No problem and good luck.
logic. 14core, 48gm memory, 1tb ssd
Get what works for you.
Honestly Logic runs fantastic on my 16GB but obviously more is better. Also Logic doesn’t really struggle with any M machine core count, they all fly. I would get the M4 Pro Mini and an external ssd for sound libraries at a fraction of the cost.
Yes, everybody should get what they need. I was stating that most do not use logic and the 16 would be fine for them.
you should go “ education $tore” route, and $top 😭! here’s my configuration : m4 pro 14 core cpu , 20 core GPU, 24GB unified memory ram, 512$$d storage, 10G ethernet , brutal specs for a total of 1,569🤑, im set, for at least the next 5 years , with a monster mac mini m4 pro chip.
Yes, that is a nice setup. I just did a video on the standard M4 Mac mini and that is even fast enough for most.
get both...review the base model and show us its capabilities and limitations then sell it....
I was thinking about that
I spent an entire week barreling over the MacBook 💻 Pro. Apple 🍎 really should understand at some point the pricing game is something they shouldn’t dig they heals in on.
I assume the Macs purchase is to probably more less involved Customers that don’t know or question Apple. So that leaves us to gripe about this pricing insanity otherwise they would have cut this out. They are playing the long game.
My sweet spot was MacBook Pro 14CPU/20GPU/48gb/1TB/TB5 only because I had to decide if at that point if I’m going to pay…let’s future proof some. But again, I again Apple is ridiculous for this.
Yes upgrades are way too much and I totally agree with that. But future proofing is important too.
Hey Craig what if you bought Apple gift cards with your Best Buy and Amazon gift cards. Can you do that?! 😂
Funny, buy maybe. I guess I just need to tell people to change what they give me but I normally don't like to do that either. Amazon allows me to buy other things like SSDs for testing etc. but I might need to do that funny.
I really love the mini but for me the iMac is better value.
I love the imacs too for sure. Had a bunch of them.
I'd go for the base model and use iCloud ....SORTED
I don't use iCloud for much and like external storage. I have a ton so why not.
@@craigneidel Just trying to be helpful for potential new mac users who want to keep costs down :)
For sure, thanks for the post.
I have something like a couple hundred tabs open in Chrome.
I know you are joking up I can get 30 to 50 if researching news.
@@craigneidel I actually deal with a LOT of news because I have been living off my portfolio for about the last decade. So, news and financial sites including Bloomberg, WSJ, Globe, Marketwatch, Barrons, and so on. Lot of Amazon tabs for new book title reminders. Lot of YT tabs.
Yeah but a few hundred.... I think you hold the record.
Is this a Mac review or gift certificate review?
Hey it is what it is. My viewers watch me because they like a bit different content.
Very funny :) ram and storage expensive the the mac min m4 lol OMG
Ram and storage crazy expensive
People have to up the memory option - with AI functions - they tend to be real memory hogs and we only have opened the door or them. Apple gave us a hint they know something with upgrading base models from 8 to 16. Future proof yourself.
Yes ai can increase ram use for sure. Thanks for watching the channel.
Greed is definitely the reason, it’s Apple’s business M O and it punishes loyal customers. Apple should introduce a loyalty program if it would offer value to customers
@@wilty5 I like that idea.
Bought M2 mini, last year; 16 GB memory, 512 GB SSD. Still very happy! 👍🏽💯
You lose out on the powerful new CPU, but it isn't a loss. You still have 2 Type A ports, power button is at a better location, and there is the Satechi docking station that works perfectly with it.
With that 16gb additional ram you could’ve gotten another mac mini m4 base with just $199 more lol
Yeah no problems with m2
@@brackpersian Bought @ Apple Store on education discount + $100 Apple gift card promo; basically RAM upgrade was free.
@@akin242002 Yep! Got all that!
Just trade your gift certificate with someone that has them for the Apple Store. Problem solved.
Yeah it was just to showcase how hard it is to get configurations unless from apple. That's an option.
I'll be looking forward to your evaluation of your M4 Pro Mini and enclosures. I'm in a similar situation for basic photo editing (LrC and PS). I don't need a Corvette to drive to the grocery store. Would it be nice to have? You bet but could I use all that "horsepower?" Probably not. Pride of ownership is one thing but it can get expensive if not needed.
For sure and thanks for the post. I'm a bit behind but should have it in about 2 weeks.
Tell your family and friends to give you VISA gift cards instead of store cards.😊
Yes, or even Apple cards. Funny but I normally like Amazon since I can then get anything but I guess it's an easy fix. But the video was more about how the big box stores only sell very specific models.